Scottish Parliament

Written Answers

Friday 29 October 1999

Scottish Executive

Energy

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the remaining £40 million Home Energy Efficiency Scheme budget over the next two years will be allocated to Scotland.

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the more in-depth review of fuel poverty and energy efficiency envisaged when the warm deal was introduced will take place.

Ms Wendy Alexander: I refer Mrs Ewing to the reply given to Question S1W-2010.

Environment

Alex Fergusson (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many wildfowl would be saved each year by implementing a lead shot ban in Scotland.

Sarah Boyack: Comprehensive information is not available. Best estimates suggest that 2.3% of the total population of wild mallards die each year in Britain as a result of lead poisoning. Research has estimated that the percentage of birds found to have ingested lead varies from 7.7% in the Inner Solway Firth to 16.7% in NE Grampian.

Environment

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the number of incidents of nuclear emissions or leaks investigated or noted by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) over the last five years, the dates on which they occurred and the actions taken by SEPA in each case.

Sarah Boyack: I am arranging to obtain the relevant information from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency since its inception in April 1996 and shall write to you in due course.

  I shall place a copy of my letter in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

Finance

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-200 by Mr Jack McConnell on 2 September 1999, what further action it now proposes to take in relation to support for the Scottish Civic Forum.

Mr Jack McConnell: The concept of the Civic Forum was endorsed by the all party Consultative Steering Group (CSG) on the Scottish Parliament as one of several means of facilitating the participation of civic society in the decision making process.

  Two members of Scottish Office staff were seconded to the Scottish Civic Assembly in March 1999 to assist with the development of the Civic Forum.

  The Executive’s commitment to supporting the Civic Forum is set out in both the Partnership Agreement and the Programme for Government.

  In addition to the support already given the Executive intends to provide funding to the Scottish Civic Forum over a three year period. A pro rata amount will be made available for the remainder of the current financial year with slightly more than £100,000 being made available in the following two years. Discussions will continue to agree the details of our agreement and we will keep the Parliament informed.

Fisheries

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the European Union for an emergency decision on increasing the nephrops quota in 1999 by a further 2,000 tonnes in the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Division IIa (EC Zone) and North Sea (EC Zone).

Mr John Home Robertson: EU Regulations permit Member States to apply for an increase in certain fish quotas if 75% of the EU quota has been utilised before 31 October. In the case of the quota for north sea nephrops, this position has been exceeded in the current year and the Scottish Executive has considered the relevant scientific advice on the sustainability of the stock in the circumstances of this year’s fishery. We have concluded that an application for an increase in the quota would be appropriate and an application for an increase was made to the Commission on 5 October.

Fisheries

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has powers to give or seek compensation to fishermen for loss of earnings during the period between the ban on nephrops fishing in the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Division IIa (EC Zone) and North Sea (EC Zone) and any European Union decision to release additional quota.

Mr John Home Robertson: The Scottish Executive has full responsibility for matters relating to fisheries in Scotland. The Executive does not believe that compensation would be appropriate where the exhaustion of quotas make it necessary to close fisheries.

Health

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from Action on Smoking and Health (Scotland) with regard to the draft Tobacco Prohibition of Advertising and Promotion Regulations 1999 on (a) the promotion of goods or services other than tobacco products by association with a named brand of cigarettes known as "brand stretching" and (b) the proposal of Her Majesty’s government to allow an optional two years (beyond 2001) so that the ban is not implemented until 2003; whether it will seek to extend the proposed ban to cover indirect advertising by "brand stretching", and whether it will support the implementation of the ban in 2001.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive has received representations from Action on Smoking and Health (Scotland). These and other comments received in response to the consultation exercise will be taken into account in finalising the Scottish regulations.

Health

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the reference laboratories working group consulted formally with the advisory committee on the microbiological safety of food before coming to a decision that there was no current justification for the continuation of a reference laboratory service for campylobacter in Scotland.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the reference laboratories working group consulted any campylobacter experts inside or outside Scotland before coming to a decision that there was no current justification for the continuation of a reference laboratory service for campylobacter in Scotland.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the user survey which it conducted with the Aberdeen reference laboratory on the usefulness of typing campylobacters was conducted, when the results of the survey will be published and whether the reference laboratories working group discussed the results of the survey before coming to a decision that there was no current justification for the continuation of a reference laboratory service for campylobacter in Scotland.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what is the turnaround time for specimens in the E coli laboratory at Foresterhill in the current financial year and how this compares with the target turnaround time.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what is the membership of the reference laboratories working group.

Susan Deacon: The membership of the Reference Laboratories Working Group is as follows:

  Chairman:

  Dr B Watt Director

  Scottish Mycobacteria Reference Laboratory

  City Hospital, Edinburgh

  Members:

  Dr S Ahmed Consultant in Public Health Medicine

  Greater Glasgow Health Board

  Dr P Christie Consultant in Public Health Medicine

  Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health, Glasgow

  Dr A S Hutchison Clinical Director for Laboratory Medicine

  Department of Biochemistry

  Southern General Hospital, Glasgow

  Dr D C Old Reader in Medical Microbiology

  Ninewells Hospital, Dundee

  Professor W J Reilly Deputy Director

  Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health, Glasgow

  There are currently two vacancies on the Working Group, one for a histopathologist, the other for a Health Board General Manager. The Working Group is presently considering whether, with the abolition of the internal market in health care, it continues to need General Manager input.

  The Working Group supplements its expertise as necessary with the support and advice of outside assessors from the Public Health Laboratory Service, Colindale, and others.

  E.coli O157 service

  The earliest occasion it has proved possible to document so far on which concerns about quality in the E.coli O157 reference laboratory were formally drawn to the attention of the reference laboratory at Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust (then known as Aberdeen Royal Hospitals NHS Trust) was in September 1994.

  Concerns about delays in response times first emerged in August 1993. Since then, repeated attempts have been made by National Services Division, the Reference Laboratories Working Group and the Department to resolve this and other concerns. This process culminated in an extraordinary meeting of the Working Group on 22 October 1998, after which it wrote to specify the areas in which improvements were seen to be imperative. These related to management issues, scientific concerns about the methodology used and the communication of results, as well as response times. The Chief Medical Officer decided that the gravity of the public health interest required that these concerns be aired at a formal meeting with the Head of the Reference Laboratories. That took place on 9 December 1998 and once again the concerns were spelled out, as was the urgent need for improvement.

  The current specification for the E.coli O157 service provided by the Aberdeen Reference Laboratory is contained in the Service Level Agreement, which was most recently reviewed in 1998 by the National Services Division of the Common Services Agency on the advice of the Reference Laboratories Working Group.

  A meeting took place on 26 February between National Services Division and the Aberdeen Royal Hospitals NHS Trust at which progress in responding to the concerns raised at the 9 December 1998 meeting was discussed. NSD also issued reminders during the year about the outstanding annual report. When it eventually saw the annual report, the Working Group took the view that its long-standing concerns had not been addressed, and recommended to the Scottish Executive that the service had to be put out to tender in order to safeguard this important area of public health in Scotland. The formal letter setting out the Scottish Executive’s decision on the future of the E.coli O157 service, based on the Working Group’s recommendation, was sent to the Trust on 1 September. There have also been exchanges of correspondence between the Trust and National Services Division since then about different aspects of the service.

  Given this chronology of concern, it was not considered necessary to seek specific clarification of the seven reasons given in the 1998-99 annual report for E.coli O157 response times. Previous annual reports from the reference laboratory have cited the same seven reasons for exceeding response times.

  The annual report was due by 31 May of this year, but was submitted two months late and the meeting of the Reference Laboratory Working Group on 12 August 1999 was the first opportunity for detailed consideration of its contents. As the problems which led to the Group’s recommendation not to renew the Aberdeen agreement were of long standing and had been discussed and explored previously, the Group considered that a further delay to seek clarification would achieve little. If six months’ notice had not been given, the Agreement with Aberdeen would have continued for another year, as would the potential risk to Public Health.

  The target turnaround time in 1999-2000 is 95% of results reported within eight working days, based on an anticipated annual activity level of 1,250 isolates. According to information supplied by Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust on 15 September 1999, 98% of the 210 samples processed between 1 April 1999 and 14 September 1999 were turned around within the required time. The period in question, however, falls after the period covered in the most recent annual report from the laboratory, on which the Reference Laboratory Working Group based its recommendation.

  Invitations to express formal interest in providing an E.coli O157 reference laboratory service were sent to all microbiology laboratories in Scotland on 3 September. The letter set out three points to be addressed, along with information on the required entry criteria and a clear statement of the procedure for handling the tendering exercise.

  Expressions of interest in the form requested have been received from:

  Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust;

  Stobhill Hospital, North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust;

  Western General Hospital, Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust ; and

  Royal Alexandra Hospital, Argyll & Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

  The Reference Laboratories Working Group decided that each of these organisations had addressed the points in the letter of 3 September sufficiently satisfactorily and that they should therefore be sent a copy of the Specification for the service and invited to tender for it.

  In view of the importance of this service, the Working Group is determined to ensure that all applicants are treated identically.

  In assessing tenders, the Scottish Executive is satisfied that it can rely on the advice of the Reference Laboratories Working Group, as an independent, expert multidisciplinary Group comprising professional and scientific staff. That advice will be peer-reviewed by External Assessors from outwith Scotland, in accordance with the Working Group’s own standard procedures.

  Campylobacter

  There is general agreement amongst the Public Health Community on both sides of the border that the data generated by current campylobacter typing methods are of little clinical or public health value. The Working Group is also aware that that view is endorsed by the recent evaluation of typing of campylobacter led by the Public Health Laboratory Service Wales.

  It had already been endorsed by the Public Health community in Scotland, whose views were sought as part of the Reference Laboratories Working Group’s 1998 user survey.

  Given the overwhelming professional consensus in this area, the Working Group took the view that nothing would have been gained by consulting the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food.

  The report of the UK collaborative group on campylobacter sub-typing has not been published.

  As is common practice, responses to the 1998 user survey were invited on a confidential basis, and in order to preserve anonymity the results of the user survey have not placed in the public domain. Were the report to be published, it would be necessary to seek permission from all those who replied.

  If a more discriminatory typing scheme for campylobacter can be devised, that is one which yields information of value in public health terms, the Reference Laboratories Working Group would of course consider drawing up a specification for a campylobacter reference service and inviting tenders.

  The Aberdeen reference laboratory was asked to use two techniques for campylobacter serotyping in parallel: the Penner technique and the modified Penner technique. The aim was to try to determine if one was more effective than the other. The laboratory has so far produced parallel results but has made no comparisons between them in terms of effectiveness. There is therefore still insufficient evidence to reach a determination on the relative usefulness of the modified Penner technique.

  General

  The representations so far received about the decisions on both services have come from MSPs, MPs, the MSF union and Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust. To date, two other expressions of support for the E.coli O157 reference service have been sent to the Scottish Executive.

Health

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the reference laboratories working group sought any clarification of the seven reasons given in the Aberdeen reference laboratory’s annual report for E coli 157 response times exceeding targets from the reference laboratory in Aberdeen prior to reaching its decision that it did not accept these reasons as justification for response times exceeding targets.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the reference laboratories working group sought further information about the samples listed in the Aberdeen reference laboratory’s annual report as falling outwith the eight day turnaround time from the reference laboratory in Aberdeen prior to reaching its decision that it did not accept the reasons given in the annual report as justification for E coli 157 response times exceeding targets.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the reference laboratories working group sought any clarification on statistical difficulties in the Aberdeen reference laboratory’s annual report from the reference laboratory in Aberdeen between receipt of the report and the National Services Division of the Common Services Agency of the Scottish Health Service (NSD) statement to the director of reference services in Aberdeen on 1 September that "the standards of presentation of information in the annual report was such that the working group found it impossible to quantify the laboratory output in terms of the NSD contract".

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when concerns over quality in the E.coli laboratory at Foresterhill were drawn to the attention of Grampian University Hospitals Trust.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what communications have taken place in 1999 between the reference laboratories working group and/or the Scottish Executive and the Aberdeen reference laboratory about quality concerns in the Aberdeen E coli laboratory.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the reference laboratories working group sought any advice on campylobacter typing from experts in this subject, inside or outside Scotland, prior to the National Services Division of the Common Services Agency of the Scottish Health Service advising the director of reference services in Aberdeen that, if a more discriminatory typing scheme for campylobacter is developed in future and found to be of proven value, the reference laboratories working group would consider, at that stage, inviting tenders for the service and, if so, what advice was received.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the reference laboratories working group considered the report of the UK collaborative group on campylobacter sub-typing, prepared for the Department of Health in June 1999, prior to the National Services Division of the Common Services Agency of the Scottish Health Service advising the director of reference services in Aberdeen that, if a more discriminatory typing scheme for campylobacter is developed in future and found to be of proven value, the reference laboratories working group would consider, at that stage, inviting tenders for the service.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whose advice it will seek in assessing any tenders received for the E coli work currently done by the Aberdeen reference laboratory in relation to the experience of bidders and the capacity of any bids to cope with major outbreaks.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which laboratories have been invited to tender for the E coli work currently done by the Aberdeen reference laboratory.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive who drew up the specification for the tender for the E coli work currently done by the Aberdeen reference laboratory and on whose advice.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will comment on any correspondence which it is aware of or has received from national or international experts on E coli and campylobacter expressing support for the Aberdeen reference laboratory and concern about the action taken by the Executive in relation to the laboratory.

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it now considers that the method of typing strains (by serotyping by direct agglutination of heat stable antigens) which the National Services Division of the Common Services Agency of the Scottish Health Service instructed the campylobacter reference laboratory in Aberdeen to use and which forms the basis of reference typing in England and Wales is not a useful scheme for reference typing.

Susan Deacon: I refer the Member to the answer given to question S1W-1829.

Health

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many mammogram units there are in Crosshouse and Ayr hospitals and what the maintenance arrangements are for these.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally. I have asked Ayrshire and Arran Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to write to the Member direct with the information he requires.

Highlands and Islands

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what account it has taken of the European Committee’s comments on the plan for the Highlands and Islands Special Programme.

Mr Jack McConnell: Following the completion of the consultation process, and in response to representations made to me on the Plan, I have decided to increase the provisional allocations of finance to the agriculture, fisheries and water provisions of the Plan. I am writing to the Convenor of the European Committee with detailed responses to the questions put to me by the Committee following the meeting on 19 October. I am also asking the Plan Team to take on board some detailed comments by the Committee.

  A copy of the Plan as submitted to the Commission will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

Historic Scotland

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what policy Historic Scotland has on charging for entry to religious sites, given that entry to Glasgow Cathedral is free whilst an entry fee is being proposed for Iona Abbey.

Rhona Brankin: Historic Scotland has a policy of charging for entry to its staffed sites, including religious monuments such as Elgin Cathedral, St Andrews Cathedral and the Border Abbeys. This helps to offset maintenance costs. The exceptions are Glasgow Cathedral and Dunblane Cathedral which serve as parish churches. Iona Abbey is not a parish church and most visitors are tourists who are already asked to make a £2 donation. Historic Scotland does not plan to charge Iona residents, staff and resident guests of the Iona community, or those attending services at the Abbey.

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of disparities between the different Sheriff courts in Scotland in terms of (a) conviction rates and (b) sentences imposed in the Sheriff summary court.

Angus MacKay: We hold information on conviction rates and sentencing decisions in the Sheriff courts in our court proceedings database.

  We also publish statistics on this, both in our annual Statistical Bulletin on Criminal Proceedings in Scottish courts, and in our publication on Costs, Sentencing Profiles and the Scottish Criminal Justice System (most recently issued in March 1999).

  The publication on costs and sentencing profiles in the Scottish criminal justice system is intended to make sentencing information more widely available to assist in improving clarity and consistency in sentencing practice.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the light of further information now available, it intends to instigate a judicial enquiry or will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government to instigate a public enquiry into the cause of the crash of ZD576 RAF Chinook on the Mull of Kintyre in June 1994.

Lord Hardie: The crash of the helicopter was the subject of a lengthy Fatal Accident Inquiry held in public and under judicial conditions. Since then, allegations have been made about some of the computer software on the aircraft but those allegations were investigated and found to relate to the performance of the pre-production version of the software in 1989 under conditions of simulated battle damage. No evidence was or is available to demonstrate that this problem was present in the software on the aircraft or that, if it was, it contributed in any way to the accident. The allegations were considered fully by the House of Commons Defence Committee in March 1998. The Report of the Committee was published in May 1998. It concluded that there was no evidence to support claims that the design flaws in the aircraft or its components contributed to the crash. In the circumstances, a further judicial or public enquiry would be unlikely to advance matters beyond where they presently stand.

Justice

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the cost to date and the expected annual cost of the Public Defence Solicitors’ office in Edinburgh and if it will publish the total number of cases concluded to date.

Mr Jim Wallace: The cost of the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office (PDSO), to 30 September 1999, was £643,000. This figure includes set up costs.

  The expected annual cost of the PDSO cannot be predicted with any accuracy because costs are determined by the number and demands of the cases handled by the Office. However, the outline budget for the PDSO for 1999-2000 is £452,000. The PDSO has recorded 534 closed cases as at 30 September 1999.

Justices of the Peace

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline the process involved in the appointment of Justices of the Peace in Scotland and what opportunities exist for local consultation prior to appointments being made.

Donald Dewar: A Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee operates in each Commission Area to identify and recommend suitable candidates to Scottish Ministers. These advisory committees must assess candidates carefully against a set of criteria to establish their suitability before making recommendations to the Scottish Executive. These recommendations are then subject to further scrutiny before any appointment is made on behalf and in the name of The Queen.

  The Justice of the Peace Advisory Committees have a duty to find suitable candidates from all sectors of the local community. To achieve this the committees adopt a number of recruiting methods including advertising in the local press and inviting nominations from local interest groups.

Justices of the Peace

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the names of the nominees for the position of Justices of the Peace on the Island of Barra, and whether it will publish the names of their proposers and seconders.

Donald Dewar: No. This information is part of a judicial appointments process and is therefore exempt from disclosure.

Justices of the Peace

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers the appointment of Justices of the Peace to be open and transparent.

Donald Dewar: Information on the process for appointing Justices of the Peace is openly available. Details of candidates and the advisory committees’ deliberations are exempt from disclosure.

Land Reform

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review commercial property leasing legislation.

Mr Jim Wallace: Section 65 of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Bill proposes a prohibition on leases for periods of more than 125 years. Apart from that we have no plans to review the law in relation to commercial leases.

Planning

Nick Johnston (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers, given that 56% of complaints to the Commissioner for Local Administration relate to planning and building control departments, that current planning procedures are flawed and, if so, what steps are being taken to review planning procedures.

Sarah Boyack: The Commissioner for Local Administration’s report for 1998-99 indicates that 22% of complaints received by him related to either planning or building control. The Commissioner’s role in each case is to establish whether there has been maladministration in how the decision has been reached rather than to question the merits of the decision.

  Planning departments deal with in excess of 40,000 applications each year and building control departments deal with over 60,000. There were 207 complaints to the Commissioner in 1998-99. Many of these complaints related to the decision itself rather than whether there had been maladministration in reaching the decision. Complaints relating to maladministration in reaching the decision represented only 0.2% of all applications.

  The legislative processes and procedures for planning and building control are constantly under review and the Scottish Executive will make improvements where appropriate.

Police

Nick Johnston (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the command structure of Scottish police forces and the way in which officers are deployed between office duties and street duties.

Mr Jim Wallace: A wide ranging review of the structure of police forces in Scotland is currently being undertaken by a steering group which is expected to report to the Scottish Executive next March. At an operational level the deployment of police personnel is a matter for chief constables. The Scottish Executive welcomes initiatives which release police officers for front line policing duties.

Police

Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will call for an enquiry into why Strathclyde police "E" division took over one and a half hours to respond to a report of an alleged mugging on 19 September 1999 in Duke Street, Dennistoun.

Mr Jim Wallace: No. Decisions on the deployment of police officers to particular incidents involve assessing competing priorities and the availability of resources. These are operational matters for the police.

Rural Affairs

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive why the rate of disbursement of budget per hectare of agricultural land for agri-environment schemes is nearly 50% below that of England.

Ross Finnie: Payment rates for agri-environment schemes are based on income foregone in accordance with EC Regulation (EEC) No. 2078/92. These are higher in the more intensively farmed and productive areas of England where the cost of complying with the relevant requirements is greater.

Social Inclusion

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Social Inclusion Action Team report will be made available.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Under the Social Inclusion Strategy published in March 1999, the Scottish Social Inclusion Network established five Action Teams to examine key areas of social inclusion policy. One Team, the Evaluation Framework Action Team, presented its Progress Report to SSIN in June; this is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). The Chairs of the other four Teams (Excluded Young People, Inclusive Communities, Local Anti-Poverty Action and Making it Happen ) presented their main findings to the Social Inclusion Network on 4 October, and their reports will be published shortly.

Social Inclusion

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-884 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 27 September 1999, what reporting requirements it places on Social Inclusion Partnerships in respect of their expenditures.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The expenditure on Social Inclusion Partnerships’ support costs referred to in my previous answer (S1W-884) is governed by a financial memorandum which specifies that partnerships provide an annual expenditure programme prior to the start of the relevant financial year, detailing spending plans for the forthcoming financial year, and including profiles and target output measures for proposed expenditure; and provide an annual progress report within three months of the end of the relevant financial year, detailing progress made against target output measures.

Transport

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will (a) identify the costs incurred to date through Blight Notices in respect of each project included in its Strategic Roads Review and (b) estimate the potential total cost of Blight Notices in respect of each project.

Sarah Boyack: A total of £430,642 has been paid in compensation and related legal and valuation costs in settlement of two Blight Notices which were served on the Department in relation to the A78 Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenson bypass. There are no outstanding Blight Notices on any of the remaining trunk road projects within the scope of the review.

Transport

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the upgrading of the A1 trunk route from Berwick to Edinburgh.

Sarah Boyack: Construction of a new stretch of dual carriageway on the A1 between Spott Road and Oswald Dean in East Lothian is currently underway and this scheme is expected to be open to traffic next month. A proposed upgrading to dual carriageway between Haddington and Dunbar is one of the schemes under consideration in the Strategic Roads Review. Other improvements to the route will be implemented in line with the A1 Route Action Plan, as resources permit.